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Microsoft to develop "body-double" telepresence solution

29 April 2013

Microsoft is pushing telepresence development with a project aimed at creating a “body-double” or “proxy” in a meeting. The project was revealed on Microsoft News, a site dedicated to reporting on developments from the technology giant. Job listings, recently published by Microsoft, show the company wants to productise ideas and code from Microsoft Research including a host of communication products.

The developments are part of the Microsoft Mesa project that combines hardware and software solutions for immersive telepresence.

Microsoft published a job listing the said: “In the short term, we are developing the hardware and software necessary to have a realistic physical “body-double” or proxy in a remote meeting – one that gives the remote worker a true seat at the table, the ability to look around the room, turn to a colleague and have a side conversation.”

In the future the company also wants to use the platform to enable “high-definition communication scenarios” over Skype.

There is also a suggestion that Microsoft will integrate its Viewport project, aimed at developing a fully distributed system for immersive teleconferencing.